This Instant Pot Panang Curry recipe tastes like it’s from a Thai restaurant! Creamy coconut milk, Panang curry paste, chicken, vegetables, and spices come together to make an amazingly tasty curry that is delicious served with jasmine rice. It’s a quick and easy recipe that you can make on a weeknight but it’s impressive enough to serve guests!
Table of Contents
Introduction
It was a bit of a challenge to make this Panang curry in the Instant Pot and have it taste like the Thai Panang curries I order at restaurants.
Don’t get me wrong: it tasted great but tasted more like Thai Red Curry, which is quite delicious in its own right. I had to make the Panang curry numerous times, trying out different ingredients and quantities, until I finally perfected the recipe.
The key to getting the Panang curry recipe right was to add an extra quantity of the ingredients that make it different from the red curry: coriander, cumin, and peanuts. I feel these flavors were lacking because pressure cooking toned down those flavors and made it seem like they weren’t even present.
A good Thai curry requires good-quality ingredients. You can read more about my quest to find the right ingredients for Thai curries on my Instant Pot Thai Red Curry recipe blog post.
This pressure cooker Panang Curry recipe can be made quickly and easily, even on a busy weeknight. I always keep coconut milk and curry paste in my pantry and I use whatever meat and vegetables I have on hand.
I find that Thai curries taste best with Jasmine rice rather than long grain, basmati, or even brown rice. Jasmine rice soaks up the curry and makes it taste so good!!
Here are some other super easy Thai recipes you’re going to love!
– Instant Pot Thai Red Curry
– Instant Pot Thai Green Curry
– Instant Pot Thai Massaman Curry
– Instant Pot Thai Yellow Curry
– Instant Pot Thai Grilled Chicken (Gai Yang)
– Instant Pot Thai Coconut Soup (Tom Kha Gai)
– Instant Pot Thai Peanut Noodles
– Instant Pot Jasmine Rice
[Read: Instant Pot Pot-in-Pot Cooking Method to learn how to cook rice and curry together!]
TIPS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Panang Curry Paste
To make this curry taste like a restaurant-quality curry, you’ve got to get the right curry paste. There are two brands of Thai curry pastes that I really like: Maesri (which I like best) and Mae Ploy.
When I use Maesri, I use 3 tablespoons of paste, but with Mae Ploy, I use 2 tablespoons because I find it to be spicier. Adjust to your tastes. If the curry is too spicy at the end, add some more coconut milk when cooking the vegetables.
Lime Leaves
Lime leaves (also known as k-lime, makrut or kaffir lime leaves) add unique flavor to Thai curries.
You can find them at Asian grocery stores. I highly recommend using them. They keep very well in the freezer!
I like to either scrunch up the lime leaves and bruise them before adding them to the curry or chiffonade them by cutting them into very thin strips. This releases the oils from the leaves and adds a stronger flavor.
If you can’t find lime leaves, add an extra teaspoon or two of lime juice. Taste as you go.
Thai Basil
Thai basil is another ingredient you can find at an Asian grocery store. It, too, adds a unique flavor to Thai recipes and I recommend trying to find it. But if you can’t locate Thai basil, substitute with regular Italian basil.
Coconut Milk
I use full-fat coconut milk. I find some coconut milk brands don’t do well during pressure cooking, including some brands that are widely available at grocery stores. My two favorite brands are Aroy-D and Chaokoh. Some readers recommend Trader Joe’s brand coconut milk.
Fish Sauce
I really like the quality of Red Boat fish sauce which you can find at Asian grocery stores or on amazon. But it is more expensive than other fish sauce brands. Tiparos is another brand of fish sauce I’ve used – it’s more affordably priced.
There’s no substitute for fish sauce. It adds that depth of flavor, the umami, to dishes. I’ve had vegetarian readers recommend the Fysh brand of sauce. But I haven’t tried it. You may need to add a little extra.
Soy sauce is also a substitute for fish sauce, but there is a flavor difference.
Also note that Thai curries are generally eaten with rice. If you’re not planning on eating the curry with rice, you might need to adjust the salt by reducing the quantity of fish sauce.
Peanut Butter
Although you can grind up roasted peanuts into a paste, I choose to use store-bought peanut butter.
Palm Sugar
Palm sugar is more authentic to a Thai curry than brown sugar is. However, I frequently use brown sugar without sacrificing taste.
Vegetables
You don’t need to stick to the vegetables that I used. You can use any vegetables of your choice including zucchini, carrots, peas, bamboo shoots.
Meats
You can easily substitute other meats or tofu instead of chicken, but you’ll have to adjust the cooking time – here are some approximate times. The timing for meat is for bite-size strips!
- Pork shoulder: 8 minutes Natural Pressure Release (NPR)
- Beef chuck: 12 minutes NPR
- Extra-firm tofu, cubed: 2 minutes, Quick Release (QR)
Doubling the Recipe
You can double all the ingredients in the recipe and pressure cook for the same amount of time. Just make sure your ingredients don’t go past the 2/3-full mark.
Splatter Screen
When you’re sauteing ingredients in the Instant Pot, the bubbling mixture can splatter. I like to use a splatter screen to cover the inner pot during this saute process.
Burn Message
If you regularly encounter the ‘burn’ message, feel free to add 1/4 cup of chicken broth when pressure cooking the coconut milk.
[Read more: Instant Pot Burn Message]
If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, you might find it helpful to first read one of the following guides and then come back here to learn how to make this recipe.
- Instant Pot DUO Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO EVO PLUS Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO NOVA Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO GOURMET Beginner’s Manual
- Instant Pot DUO CRISP Beginner’s Manual
Instant Pot Panang Curry- Ingredients
- Onion
- Chicken
- Coconut milk
- Green beans (or any vegetable)
- Bell peppers
- Thai basil
- Lime leaves
- Cumin
- Coriander
- Fish sauce
- Peanut butter
- Brown sugar
- Lime juice
- Panang curry paste (missing from photo)
How to Make Thai Panang Curry in the Instant Pot (Step by Step Instructions)
- Turn on Saute Mode
- Saute coconut milk and spices
- Saute chicken
- Pressure cook
- Quick-release pressure
- Stir in vegetables and seasonings
How to Turn on Saute Mode
- Instant Pot DUO: Select the Saute function.
- Instant Pot ULTRA: Select the Saute function and press Start.
Saute Coconut Milk and Spices
- Stir together 1/2 can of coconut milk, Panang curry paste, cumin and coriander in the Instant Pot inner pot.
Saute Chicken
- Saute until mixture is bubbly and oil begins to separate, about two to three minutes. Use a splatter screen to prevent splatter, if necessary.
- Select ‘Cancel’ and stir in chicken and remaining coconut milk.
Instant Pot Duo Pressure Cook 4 minutes
- Close the lid and make sure steam release handle is in Sealing position
- Press Manual (or Pressure Cook) and + or – until the display reads 4 (4 minutes).
Instant Pot Ultra Pressure Cook 4 minutes
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust the time to 4 minutes (00:04).
- Press ‘Start’.
Pressure Cooking Process (Duo and Ultra)
- Instant Pot display will change to On.
- Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.
- The display will count down to 0; it will then switch to Keep Warm mode and display L0:00 or 00 00 and begin to count up the number of minutes since pressure cooking completed.
How to Quick Release Pressure (QR) on the DUO
- Move the steam release handle to Venting. Steam will come out of the steam release handle.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
How to Quick Release Pressure (QR) on the ULTRA
- Press down on the Steam Release Button until it locks into place, and steam begins to come out of the Steam Release Valve.
- When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
[Find out more about the pressure release methods and how and when to use them. ]
Stir in Vegetables and Seasonings
- Select ‘Saute’ function.
- Stir in fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, peanut butter, bell pepper, green beans, onion, and lime leaves.
- Cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Don’t overcook, as the vegetables will continue to cook in the residual heat.
- Taste and adjust with more fish sauce, brown sugar or lime juice.
- Stir in the Thai basil leaves.
- Serve with Instant Pot Jasmine Rice.
Thai Instant Pot Panang Curry with Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 Tbsp Thai Panang curry paste preferably Maesri or Mae Ploy brand *
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 14 oz. coconut milk preferably Aroy-D or Chaokoh brand
- 1 1/2 lb boneless chicken breasts or thighs cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce more to taste
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar (or palm sugar), to taste
- 2 tsp lime juice
- 2 Tbsp peanut butter or to taste
- 1 cup red and/or green bell pepper sliced
- 1 cup green beans cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup onion sliced
- 4 lime leaves slightly bruised **
- 12 to 15 Thai Basil leaves
Instructions
- Select Saute and stir together Panang curry paste, coriander, cumin and 1/2 can of coconut milk in the inner pot. until mixture is bubbly, about a minute or two.
- Press Cancel.
- Stir in chicken and remaining coconut milk.
- Close the lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes.
- Do a Quick Release of pressure and open the Instant Pot. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]
- Stir in fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, peanut butter, bell pepper, beans, onion, and lime leaves.
- Select Saute and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes. (Be sure not to overcook. Vegetables will continue to cook in the residual heat.)
- Taste and adjust with more fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice or peanut butter.
- Stir in the Thai basil leaves.
- Serve with Instant Pot Jasmine Rice.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. minced garlic, cut vegetables, etc.
- Use a
splatter screen, if necessary, to guard against the coconut milk bubbling up. - Thai curries are generally eaten with rice. If you’re not planning on eating the curry with rice, you might need to adjust the salt by reducing the quantity of fish sauce.
- * I use 2 Tbsp of Mae Ploy brand or 3 Tbsp of Maesri brand.
- ** lime leaves also referred to as k-lime, makrut or kaffir lime leaves
- See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips
Nutrition
I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
If you loved this recipe, please give it a five ⭐ rating in the comment section below and please share it on social media using the social media share buttons at the top and bottom of this post. Thank you so much!
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David B.
Thanks for sharing. I make this often and it is better than anything you could ever find in a Thai restaurant. I like cumulative heat so I add extra paste but you can play with this any way and not go wrong. 😋
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thank you, David, for your review and tip!
Karen
I didn’t have green beans so subbed finely sliced red onion, snap peas and some minced garlic. I also like my sauce thicker, so added a Tbsp. of cornstarch to the liquids at the end. VERY good and took me back to Thailand for sure!!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Karen, thank you for sharing your substitutions – I’m so glad to hear you liked it 🙂
Christine
Hi,
If I double the recipe, does the cooking time in the Instant Pot double as well?
Thanks
Paint the Kitchen Red
Christine, you can double the recipe but keep the cooking time the same. The Instant Pot might take a bit longer to come to pressure but you don’t need to program that. Hope that helps.
Megan
This is amazing! Thank you so much for the detail and tips when putting the recipe together.
I did want to ask – after cooking the sauce was thin, and I was wondering what you’d recommend using to thicken it?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Megan, I highly recommend you try and get the best quality coconut milk. The blog post tips section has the two brands I recommend. And make sure you didn’t use light coconut milk. Although cornstarch isn’t normally used in Thai curries, I would try using a cornstarch slurry to thicken it. Thanks for your question.
Kerry
Hi! No Asian Markets near me 🙁 I was wondering if dried Kaffir leafs are a good substitute for the fresh? TIA
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi there Kerry, I know people have used the dried and it’s been fine. Fresh is always best, but you have to make do with what you have access to. Taste and adjust with a few drops of lime juice if you’d like.
Heidi Meyer
I don’t have an instant pot, do you have cooking recommendations for stove top?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Heidi, look at my recipe for Instant Pot Thai Red Curry (stovetop) recipe and use the same general recipe timings. Let me know if you have specific questions.
kikuri
if I wanted to make this with fresh broccoli florets, when would I add them? Would I need to pressure cook them? Thank you!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Kikuri, you would add the broccoli after the chicken is finished pressure cooking, and cook it on ‘Saute’ mode until cooked al dente or to desired consistency. Keep in mind that the broccoli will continue to cook, so take it off heat.
Adriana
This was absolutely fabulous! We are fortunate to have an Asian market in my town but unfortunately, they did not have the kaffir lime leaves but the recipe still turned out great. My bf said it was the best meal I’ve made him and trust me, I’ve made lots.
I doubled the recipe and wasn’t sure if I needed to pressure cook with more time because I had 3 lbs of chicken vs the 1 and 1/2 the recipe called for. Nope, no changes needed to cooking time in the IP.
Thank you for posting and we may never need to visit another Thai restaurant again..unless on vacation 🙂
Paint the Kitchen Red
Adriana – thank you for the lovely comment. I feel the same way about going to Thai restaurants now! Be sure to try the other curries too; equally good!
Linda
My husband and I loved your red curry recipie and I wanted to try to make panang curry which is actually our favorite curry. I wanted to double the serving and use beef chuck or beef stew meat. Does that mean I should use 3lbs of the beef if I doubled the serving? And can i just double all the ingredients and how will it affect my cook time? Will it still be 15 mins with 10min NPR?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Linda, if you cut the beef up into stew-size bites, pressure cook for 15 minutes. Look at my Instant Pot Massaman Curry instructions – it’s a beef recipe. Since you may not be adding the potatoes in that recipe, I think you can just do a full NPR or lesser NPR. Yes, I think you should be able to double the recipe. If you cut the beef into thin strips, you probably can pressure cook for 10 to 12 minutes.
Carrie Leavitt
How long would you pressure cook for shrimp?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Carrie – you can do 1 minute quick release or you can just heat it in Saute mode for a couple of minutes.
Eva
We made this today and it was outstanding! We used 3 TBSP of the panang curry and doubled the green beans. Wow!!! We will be saving this recipe as one of our favorites. Thank you!
Paint the Kitchen Red
That’s great, Eva! It’s one of my faves too – so glad you liked it and thanks for taking the time to comment!
Kelli
If I wanted to make beef Panang Curry (family favorite at local Thai restaurant) what cut of beef would I use and would cooking times change? Anything else?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Kelli – good question. You can use beef stew meat, and cook for about 15 minutes, with about 10 minutes Natural Release. I also use beef chuck, but make sure the meat is trimmed of excessive fat. I don’t think you need to make any other changes.
Mary Wilson
I made the Panang curry this weekend just as the recipe specified and it was terrific! Have you ever doubled the recipe? I would like to make it for guests. Thank you for showing me pictures of each step of using my Instant Pot. I’ve never felt confident using it but your step-by-step instructions helped me learn how to use it.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Mary, I’m glad you liked the recipe. Yes, I have doubled the recipe and it’s been just fine. Thanks for your comment!
John
Took some time to hunt down the keffir lime leaves and thai basil but it was worth it. This was excellent.
Paint the Kitchen Red
So glad you liked it, John. I think you’ll like the other Thai curries too, if you’ve not tried them yet…
An Hu
Hi there,
If I can’t find the line keaves, will it affect the flavor?
Thanks!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi there An, if you can’t find lime leaves, add some extra lime juice, just a bit more. Thanks for visiting the site!
Reva
Nina, as they say you have Kaipuniyam for sure–tried this and absolutely loved it–going to try the others soon–5 plus stars–keep them coming
Paint the Kitchen Red
Awww, thanks so much Reva – that means a lot; usually something I say about my mom’s cooking 🙂 I think you’ll love the other Thai recipes too!
Sonal
Hey Neena
I got to your post through Pinterest and I loved your style of writing it with details and transparency.
We are a Thai Food Hooked Family and cook with Thai pastes often! This Panang is a must try for sure!
It was lovely meeting with you at the EFC2018, last week. Stay connected! 🙂
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Sonal – it was great meeting you too! Thanks for the kind words. I took a look at your mango trifle – it looks amazing, will have to try it out!
Yoav Morahg
Just finished making this. We aren’t going too be eating it until tomorrow but I tasted and OMG SO good!!! Taste just like at a restaurant!!!! Thank you SO much!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks for commenting, Yoav! I’m glad you liked it as much as I do. Hope you get to try out the other Thai curries – they are equally delicious.
Cyndi Hartshorn
Do you have a recipe for yellow curry with potatoes? I am such a spice wimp but this looks soooo good! Yellow curry is usually the most mild I can find.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Cyndi, I don’t have one posted yet. But. You need to try the Massaman curry. Massaman is really mild. If you don’t eat beef, you could do chicken. Yellow curry is on my list, will probably get to it in the fall!
Jan Oden
Wonderful flavors! I used the lesser amount of paste since we don’t like as much heat, just delicious!! Thank you, Neena for another tasty (and easy!) dinner…Thai style…yummmm!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thank you, Jan! You get the prize for the first comment on this recipe 🙂 Glad you liked it and thanks for your comment!
Melody Wright
Hello I can’t wait to try this tomorrow! Do I wait for the pot to say ‘Hot’ before adding the curry paste, coriander, cumin and coconut milk? Thanks
Paint the Kitchen Red
Melody – I’ve been visiting my parents and so forgive me for not answering sooner. Hope you figured it out. I normally wait for ‘hot’ when I’m frying in oil but with coconut milk, it can splatter a lot so you can put it in before it gets to ‘hot’.
Melody Wright
Hi thanks for the response! We tried the recipe and it was a hit. This will now be our go to recipe when we are craving a Thai dish!